Let the Parties Begin!

A couple of Saturday's ago, Eli got to go to Jason and Juliana's birthday party. They live right next to Mamaw and Papaw and are really close to our family. We were so excited to get an invitation to their birthday party.

When we got there, Eli immediately spotted the huge swing set they had in their backyard. And of course, he had to play on it with the other kids. He went right to it and started climbing, but figured out he couldn't do it on his own. Papaw came to the rescue and helped him climb up to the very top. I was right behind him every step of the way because I knew Eli lacks a fear of danger and I could just see him walking right off the side of the swing set and not thinking a thing about it. Talk about giving a Momma gray hairs!

Giving the birthday girl a hug

Jumping in the little bouncer

I want one of these, please!

He didn't really like being "supervised" by Mommy, but he knew I wasn't budging, so he made the most of it. He loved spinning the wheel, climbing the rock wall, and sliding down the slide with me. I enjoyed it just as much as he did!

All that climbing and sliding made him really hungry. I told him we were going to eat and he got really excited. He ate 1 1/2 hot dogs, strawberries, and some chips. He's eating so much better these days, thank goodness!

After lunch, all the kids lined up to try their hand at the pinata. After several swings from all the kids, Jason had the honor of knocking all the candy out. I snagged a Fruit Roll-Up for Eli and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup for me and we were both happy campers.

We sang Happy Birthday to both of the kids and then it was play time for Eli again. He had a BLAST! He loved the big cars that Jason and Juliana had. Guess which one he liked better? HA HA! Let's just say Daddy wouldn't have been too happy. He even got to play on the big boy jumper after most of the kids went home. We had a great time. Thanks for the invite Jason and Juliana! Happy Birthday!!

A Preview of Summer

Last Saturday, Eli, Maggie, and I spent another beautiful day outside. Eli ate his popsicle, played on his new play set, and played with the water hose again. I have a feeling that we're going to be spending lots of time outside this summer. I have never met a little boy that loves being outside more than Eli. It's his most favorite thing in the entire world.

My sweet, Maggie. Her world was completely changed when
we had Eli, but she and Eli are quickly becoming good buddies.

What's outside without a "pop-pop?"
Eli LOVES to have one every time we go outside.

Playing on his new slide from his buddy, Sophie.

Sharing his goldfish with Maggie

Probably one of the reasons why Eli loves getting a "pop-pop" when we go outside is because it makes his hands sticky and Mommy has to get out the water hose. Water is Eli's new friend! He loves "wa-wa!"

And so does Maggie.....

I guess I just need to prepare Josh for a slight increase in our water bill this summer :) Looks like Eli is going to be part fish!

A Wonderful Gift from a Sweet Friend

The other day I got a text from my friend, Torri, asking if Eli would like a Little Tikes play set from her daughter, Sophie. Sophie is in first grade now and isn't using the play set anymore, so they were wanting to give it away to make some room in their backyard. I immediately said "Yes!" I knew that Eli would love anything that he could play, climb, and slide on outside. We went and got it last weekend and brought it to our house. It was late at night when we went to pick it up, so we only made it to the front yard with it because we couldn't see to place it in the backyard. Also, our lawn mower was broken, so the backyard was in desperate need of mowing and we didn't want to set it down only to have to move it again.

Eli got to slide on it a couple times that night before going to bed and he LOVED it. The next morning when we walked outside to go to Mrs. Dara's house, Eli spotted the slide and ran towards it in his pajamas saying, "Shide, shide, shide!" (slide). I quickly ran to get him and told him we'd play on it that afternoon when we got home. Not that he has any concept of time, but it at least distracted him enough to get him in the car to go down to Mrs. Dara's house.

When we got home that afternoon, we changed into our play clothes and Eli got to "shide!" He had a blast. He climbed, slid down the slides, peeped through the windows, went in and out of the play set over and over again, until it was dark. Thank you so much, Sophie, for sharing this toy! You were so SWEET to think of Eli! He's going to love this play set so much!

Kee-Cat!!

From the time Eli was three months old until he was 6 six months old, he stayed with Mammy and Uncle Clare during the day while Josh and I worked. Mammy and Uncle Clare are big time cat lovers. They have three inside cats and I think that's where Eli developed his love of kitty cats. Not only does Eli get his fill of cats at Mammy's house, but when we go visit my parents, they also have four inside cats. Between the two houses, Eli definitely has had time to develop a love of kitty cats. It's so cute because Eli's entire face will light up from end to end when he sees a "kee-cat" (kitty cat) and he'll do his best to chase it so he can play with their tail. What's even cuter is when the kitty cat disappears because it's tired of being chased by a certain 17 month old and Eli signs "more" and says "more kee-cat!" Precious!

The other day, our neighbor, Sabrina, and her son, John-Garrett, brought over two "kee-cats" to play with Eli. They were still itty bitty, but that didn't deter Eli at all. He was SO EXCITED to those kitty cats! He loved picking them up and carrying them around. It made me really nervous (not for him, but for that poor kitten!), but Sabrina reassured me that it was fine. Good to know!

I'm so glad Eli already has such a love for animals. I don't think he'll ever have a "kee-cat" of his own since his daddy is allergic to them, but I'm glad that he can love and appreciate them. He'll just have to have fun loving on Grammy and Mammy's kitty cats for now :)